Originally posted by lukeskywalker1
1) Pornography feeds lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh, which are never satisfied. It leaves the viewer craving more and more in order to achieve the same "sexual high." It easily enslaves people to their own cravings and opens the door to other forms of evil, like anger, abuse, violence, hatred, lying, envy, compulsiveness and selfishness. The power behind porn is revealed when the porn addict tries to stop their habit - its virtually impossible without help.
"Lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh?" Lust is merely a human construct and exists only in the mind, not the unthinking eyes or "flesh." A trite point perhaps, but it demonstrates the pseudoscientific methodology of your source. What's the empirical data that supports the conclusion that pornography "opens the door to other forms of evil?" Remember, correlation does not immediately imply causation. Otherwise, there would be something to be concerned about eating white bread (90% of all convicted criminals eat white bread on a habitual basis after all).
Originally posted by lukeskywalker1
2) Pornography sexualizes the viewer's mindset. It warps and perverts their perspective such that sex is unnaturally elevated in their thoughts. Porn's images are stamped into viewer's brain with the aid of hormones released during sexual arousal.
Again, more pseudoscience as far as I can tell. What is the empirical data that your source uses? What constitutes "unnaturally elevated?" What does a "sexualized mindset" consist of? This appears to be post-modernist garbage mixed with religiocentric perspective.
Originally posted by lukeskywalker1
3) Pornography promotes destructive practices and can lead to progressive addiction. [...] The viewer's exposure to such themes naturally increases the likelihood that they may attempt to act out what they've viewed. This can lead to sexual crimes, a la the late Ted Bundy and Gary Ridgway (The Green River Killer).
Again, an obvious fallacy that lacks empirical data. Post hoc ergo propter hoc (
http://www.csun.edu/~dgw61315/fallacies.html#Post) hoc ergo propter hoc), to be exact. To suggest that sexual criminals got their start in pornography is ludicrous without empirical demonstration. In fact, I'd argue that there is likely a preponderance of evidence to the contrary. I'm personally aquainted with many people, perhaps several dozen, that enjoy pornography. None has ever been convicted or accused of anything more serious than a traffic ticket.
If the source is to be believed, Family Safe Media (2004) reports that the 2003 statistics of internet pornography included the following: 15-17 year olds having multiple hard-core exposures 80% Men admitting to accessing pornography at work 20% Women admitting to accessing pornography at work 13% US adults who regularly visit Internet pornography websites 40 million
In 2001, the number of rapes reported to law enforcement totaled 90,491 incidents (FBI, October 2002).
Taking into consideration that there were more than 250 million people in the U.S. in 2001 and that the pornography statistics above have not decreased, a little bit of math is all that is needed: 90.5 / 40,000 = .2%. Therefore, if each of the 90.5 k rapes were comitted as many rapists and each of these rapists were among the 40 million who look at internet porn (or even higher number that view other porn media), then only .2% of them become rapists. Hardly enough to draw a correlation.
Originally posted by lukeskywalker1
4) Pornography intensifies an individual's drive to serve oneself, rather than serve others.
What are the empirical data?
Originally posted by lukeskywalker1
5) Pornography addiction can lead to debt.
What percentage of the 40 million internet porn users are in debt because of it? But then the key word there is "can," isn't it? For that matter, addiction to roller coasters can lead to debt (have you seen the price for an entry to 6 Flags?). The real consideration here is how many of the 40 million porn internet porn users and users of other pornographic media are truly addicted? What consistutes addiction? I think that once this is answered, it would be discoverd that only a small percentage of the population is actually addicted to some or multiple forms of pornography. Those addicted to the lotto are probably far higher and more problematic for society than porn (lotto is the tax on the ignorant, after all).
Originally posted by lukeskywalker1
6) By viewing and/or purchasing porn, viewers are supporting the porn industry and facilitating its growth. By viewing porn, the viewer is also contributing to the sexual exploitation of whoever or whatever is in the images he or she is viewing.
Poppycock. What are the statistics on true exploitation (those being forced to create pornographic media) versus those that choose to participate and benefit financially? This is, again, merely some religiocentric loudmouths imposing their own self-righteous morality on others.
Originally posted by lukeskywalker1
7) Looking at porn can damage the viewer's family relationships, not to mention increasing the chance of his or her spouse and children finding the material.
Again: 40 million + porn users on the internet alone. Show me the empirical evidence that implies pornography as a causation for the 950,000 divorces that occured in 2001 (Kreider, 2001). Even if each and every one was related to porn, that still only 2.3% of the 40 million.
Originally posted by lukeskywalker1
8) Looking at porn at work could damage the viewer's reputation, decrease his or her productivity and lead to job loss. It could also inspire unhealthy and/or inappropriate relationships with co-workers.
Says what empirical data? You might also say that looking at porn could increase your odds of winning an iPod, since these ads frequently pop up during surfing the internet. Eating white bread again.
Originally posted by lukeskywalker1
9) Looking at porn can damage the viewer's current or future marriage sex life.
See refutation to number 7; for the rest, there is also an equally valid hypothesis that viewing porn can add to familial relationships, particularly the sex life.
Originally posted by lukeskywalker1
10) Looking at porn will increase the viewer's tendency to lie, because he or she will have a natural desire to keep it secret to avoid criticism, embarrassment, shame and/or having to surrender their habit.
Blah, blah, blah... empirical data?
Originally posted by lukeskywalker1
11) Looking at porn can lead a person into masturbation addiction.
Perhaps in your case, but a study of one is too small a sample size. What statistics and studies does your source cite for masturbation addiction?
Originally posted by lukeskywalker1
12) Looking at porn brings serious spiritual consequences
Religious poppycock based on unbounded concepts, therefore discarded from the argument as irrelevant.
Originally posted by lukeskywalker1
13) Looking at porn helps you start to believe the lies it promotes.
No more than reading science fiction & fantasy, regularly visiting the cinema or theatre, or playing RPG games. The human mind has both the abilities to lose itself in fantasy and separate fantasy from reality. Those that lose themselves in porn may already have problems with other imersions in fantasy, which would imply that it isn't pornography which is at fault, but the user.
In every single point that your source creates, there is a manufactured "fact" or set of "facts." This is consistent with pseudoscience, which seeks to create a false solution or answer based on scientific sounding verbage. But saying that X plus Y equals Z is meaningless unless the work can be shown.
Just because it seems intuitive on some level that pornography is bad for society doesn't mean that it truly is until the data are used to demonstrate it to be. It seems more likely to me that "porn" is a symptom of societal problems rather than societal problems being a symptom of porn.
But the unquestioning belief in baloney like this won't solve the problems. It certainly won't help identify them.
References:
FBI (October 2002). Crime in the United States, Uniform Crime Reports 2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
Family Safe Media (2004). Pornography Statistics 2003 Found at:
http://www.familysafemedia.com/pornography_statistics.html)
Kreider, Rose (2001). Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: Fall 1996. Current Population Reports, P70-80. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC